Poland Spring - #NotTrash

SOCIAL CAMPAIGN

As a brand that relies on nature, Poland Spring has a responsibility to take action and protect it. So, they pledged to use 100% recycled plastic across their still water portfolio by 2022. And while that's a wonderful, responsible shift to the single-use plastic supply chain, it requires consumer participation to be fully realized. Currently, there are not enough single-use plastics being recycled for corporations to deliver on their promises. Only 3 out of 10 plastic bottles are recycled in the US. So, rather than just share the brand's announcement, we sought to create behavior change and shift perceptions around recycling.

PARTNERS

Recycling is a confusing, complex and often frustrating process for many people, causing most to opt out. So, we needed a way to get them reinvested. We needed to remove the consumer guilt and make things simple and accessible. Enter #NotTrash - a new way to think about (and talk about) recycling, in the vernacular of the internet.  

We created an Instagram-powered hotline where you could send in a photo of anything and we would tell you what to do with it and why - localized to where YOU were, with the help from the experts at The Recycling Partnership. We also built a website connected to a QR code, found on Poland Spring bottles, to teach people more about the life cycle of their water, from the spring, forward. 

The campaign immediately caught attention, earning over 150MM media impressions; hundreds of people submitted #NotTrash questions (about plastic bags, salad containers, shopping receipts, newspapers and more!); over 15,000 QR codes were scanned in the first month - with an average of five minutes spent on site for each; we connected more closely with a younger audience (18-24) who said they would be proud to buy the brand based on this content; and, we increased brand recall and purchase intent - through a narrative of purpose and action (Facebook Brand Study). And, most importantly, conversation about recycling increased - via hashtags, photos, giphy stickers and more!